More homes could be left without power as Storm Barra is expected to bring chaos to the UK and Ireland today.
Weather warnings have been put in place for snow, ice, rain and wind across Britain as the storm sweeps in from the Atlantic.
Gusts of 60-70mph are expected on the western and southern coasts of England and Wales, accompanied by large waves and flying debris which could endanger lives.
People have been warned to stay well clear of the coasts and that disruption to travel is unlikely.
It comes after Storm Arwen wreaked havoc across large parts of the country just over a week ago – leaving thousands of homes without electricity.
Yesterday some 1,600 households in the North East were still without power – 10 days after the storm hit.
Boris Johnson said he had spoken to the chief executive of Northern Powergrid and had been ‘assured they would be reconnected’ by today ‘at the latest’.
Later on Monday evening, the electricity supplier said it had reduced the number of homes and businesses affected to 700.
Ice was expected overnight ahead of Storm Barra’s arrival, with the Met Office issuing a yellow warning as drivers faced potentially hazardous conditions in western Scotland and north-west England.
While the west of Ireland will receive the worst of the storm today, yellow wind warnings are in place across England, Wales and Northern Ireland – with travel disruptions likely. There are also fears of power cuts and damage to buildings.
The Environment Agency has issued three flood warnings for England’s south coast, as well as 34 flood alerts.
Yellow snow warnings are also in place in northern England and Scotland, with blizzards and snowfall of up to 20cm causing treacherous conditions on roads at higher altitudes, the Met Office said.
In Ireland, schools have been told to keep their doors closed as a rare red warning was given for Cork, Kerry and Clare.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said Storm Barra’s wind gusts and impacts ‘will be a notch down compared to Arwen’.
But there are concerns that today’s gale-force winds could make it more difficult for engineers to reconnect homes.
However gusts are expected to gradually weaken as they move eastwards and should peter out by Thursday.
Following a call with the boss of Northern Powergrid, Phil Jones, the Prime Minister tweeted he had ‘asked for assurances that the energy supply companies were putting in place measures to limit any potential further disruption to households as a result of Storm Barra’.
Yesterday energy minister Greg Hands said it was ‘completely unacceptable’ that around 1,600 households were still without power.
Labour has accused the Government of treating people in Scotland and the north of England as ‘second-class citizens’.
Residents in the affected areas said they were losing hope and feeling ‘fed up and angry’ as they faced an 11th night without electricity.
A deadline set last Wednesday to restore power supply to all properties by the end of the week was missed.
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